8. The small proprietor, the month's profit and lessons

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8.1 Sentry Guard Services: 8 guards, no GST

Raju Varghese runs Sentry Guard Services from Thrissur: 8 guards, 2 clients, turnover of INR 18.4 lakh over the last twelve months. He is a proprietor and not GST-registered. He uses the same OSERP screens as Vigilon; the checklist tells him what applies at his size.

Obligation	Sentry	Why
Shops and establishments registration	Applies	Every establishment
Professional tax	Applies	In Kerala, for the business and its people
PSARA licence	Applies	Any private security agency, however small
Minimum wages, wage register, muster roll	Applies	Every employer
PF	Not yet	At 20 employees. He may join voluntarily earlier, and the checklist treats a PF code held below 20 as voluntary cover
ESI	Not yet	At 10 employees, in an area where ESI is notified
Bonus, gratuity	Not yet	At 20 and 10 employees
GST registration	Not yet	Services turnover below INR 20 lakh. At 18.4 lakh he is close
Contractor licence	Not yet	Below the contract-worker threshold

His contracts are set to no GST, his bills carry none, and his payroll deducts only what applies. When he crosses 10 guards, ESI moves to applies and missing on the checklist the same day, with what to do. No consultant has to tell him.

8.2 Vigilon's September

	INR
Guarding: billed to 50 clients (before GST)	1,50,13,142
Less: payroll cost (gross pay, employer PF and ESI, gratuity provision)	(1,28,69,090)
Contribution from guarding	21,44,052 (14.3%)
Recruitment: placement fees invoiced to employers	3,30,000
Recruitment: candidate charges from 34 selected workers (before GST)	7,35,000
Contribution before office costs	32,09,052

Office rent, uniforms, vehicles, the supervisors' travel and the owner's drawings come out of this. The recruitment side earns half as much as 600 guards with no guards on the payroll, which is why Vigilon is growing it.

8.3 What the system found this month

Finding	Where it showed	What Vigilon does next
134 assigned people missing a paper their job role needs	Statutory Compliance > Required papers	Supervisors' list for the week
No POSH Internal Committee at 600 people	What applies	Constitute the Internal Committee and display its members
No standing orders at 600 workers	What applies	Adopt standing orders for its workers
No labour welfare fund registration in Tamil Nadu	What applies	Register, then add it on the profile
Kerala professional tax not deducted in September	Every Kerala payslip, "Not deducted and why"	Entered as a state levy from 1 October (chapter 1); pay September's to the corporation from the register of wages
7 uncovered duties at Crescent Jewellers	The bill	Tighten the relief roster at that site
2 deployed CCTV operators not yet invoiced	The opening	Invoice the placement fee

8.4 Lessons

1. One duty grid, two uses. The same mark pays the guard and bills the client. A manpower company that keeps attendance for payroll in one place and duties for billing in another will, every month, pay for duties it did not bill.
2. The law is a checklist that moves with you. Put in your headcount, states and activities and let the checklist say what applies. Re-read it each time you cross 10, 20, 50 or 300 people.
3. Never take money from a job seeker before selection. Registering and applying are free. The service charge comes after selection, within the cap, against a receipt. It is the law, and it is also what makes candidates trust you.
4. A payslip is a statement to the employee. Net pay first, year to date beside the month, the employer's contributions apart from the pay, and a reason for everything not deducted. Guards read it on a phone, so it is on their phone.
5. Let guards clock themselves in. One button on their own phone, the server's time, the site's location. The supervisor corrects exceptions instead of typing 600 rows.
6. Talk to people from inside the system. A WhatsApp sent from a personal phone is a conversation nobody else can see when that person is on leave.

8.5 The monthly checklist

When	Task	Screen
Daily	Guards clock in and out; supervisors fix exceptions	My Work; Sales > Service Contracts > Duties
Last day	Complete every site's duty grid	Sales > Service Contracts > Duties
1st-2nd	Calculate, check and approve payroll	Payroll Runs
1st-2nd	Minimum wage check on the run	Statutory Compliance > Minimum wages
3rd	Raise all client bills	Sales > Service Contracts > Bill
7th	Pay salaries; TDS for the month	Payroll Runs > Journal
11th / 20th	GSTR-1 / GSTR-3B	GST returns
15th	PF ECR and ESI file and payment	Statutory Compliance > Files & registers
Weekly	Chase missing papers	Statutory Compliance > Required papers
Weekly	Move candidates; raise charges at selection; issue offers; invoice placement fees at deployment	CRM > Hiring
Monthly	Read "What applies" and "Due this month"	Statutory Compliance

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